Each of the six finalists submitted their idea, to one of three categories, looking to solve a problem that will make the payments process easier for consumers. With solutions ranging from a wearable biometric authentication device through to a group payment app, the finalists in each category are:

• Digital Me: how can we keep our data private to us and under our care?
o Biowatch SA - offering accurate, private and personal three-factor authentication systems based on a worn vein biometric strap or watch clasp to secure a user’s physical and digital access to transactional services
o Ukkobox - is an affordable cloud file protection service that creates a private data protection layer between the existing storage providers and the user’s device using cryptography to prevent invasions and provide redundancy ensuring 100% availability.

• Data Me: how can we easily push personal data to sites we need to transact with?
o Trunomi - solves KYC and data sharing challenges for the financial industry with technology to create and manage consent to use customer data. The technology allows financial institutions to realise the potential of data through the power of consent
o Sentrycs - Identity-Management Software-as-a-Service enabling secure, seamless and non-intrusive web, mobile and IoT access & online transactions to free consumers from passwords or dongle carrying.

• Group Payments: how can we make the process of buying things together easier?
o Flendr - a platform for social payments - from collecting repayments for a group activity you’ve booked through to raising money for local causes amongst friends and family. Easy to set up, convenient and secure
o Paybox - a social payment network that simplifies the process of group payments, it provides special tools that enable to you to collect, spend and manage payments collectively. Think about it as an eWallet for groups.

“There is a real appetite from the European fintech startup community to drive innovation in the disruptive payments market,” explained Niamh de Niese, Director of Innovation Delivery at Visa Europe Collab. “We are very excited to be entering the next phase of our competition with such a strong calibre of finalists. The judges have a tough decision ahead, as each has a compelling idea to help shape the future of the payments landscape.”

“We would like to thank all of the companies that responded to, and entered, our competition. The quality of submissions was extremely high,” commented Ian Merricks, Chair, The Accelerator Network. “This competition offers fintech startups an invaluable opportunity to work with industry leaders that will help them shape their ideas in order to ensure future success.”

For the next stage of the competition, the six finalists have been invited to travel to Israel to pitch their ideas at a live judging event on 8 September at the Visa Europe Collab Tel Aviv Hub. The live judging event will take place during the world-renowned DLD technology festival in Tel Aviv, which runs from 6-12 September. Visa Europe Collab will deliver a Proof of Concept for the winning idea, with full access to the Collab partners and The Accelerator Network to support its development.

All finalists will also be invited to the Visa Europe Innovation Exchange in Tel Aviv on 9 September, an event that will connect local startups to the broader European startup support eco-system. During the event the overall winner will be given the chance to speak on stage, pitching their ideas to expert European retailers, banks, top-tier corporations and investors.